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MCAT 2015 Tips

At the risk of sounding crazy, I loved the new MCAT. The new MCAT forced me to synthesize everything and apply it to the human body which gave it all a purpose (including physics!). As a post-bac non-traditional student, I took all the relevant courses in a short period of time so the material was still fresh.

I wish the classes were taught more with the MCAT in mind. Why there isn’t a separate “physics for medical students” class that teaches physics as it relates to the human body (instead of just engineering physics), I don’t know.

In terms of my study schedule, I studied for about 6 weeks full-time. Full-time as in every single day usually from 8am to 9pm (during the spring semester I had also attended 2/3 of a Princeton Review class, but hadn’t been able to keep up with the homework).

Although I studied almost all day, I gave myself a break every hour or so to look at wedding dresses and blogs and check instagram, snapchat, and facebook. Social media was helpful for me to feel connected to all the people I didn’t have time to connect to in the “real world” and to remember that there was a world beyond this one test. I also took 3-4 hour excursions with my family and friends to run errands or go on walks or hikes.

Specific advice for the newMCAT:

People approach this test in all different ways (some start with content review before tackling practice questions/exams while others start with practice exams and then review the content of questions they missed). Do what works for you! There are a ton of free resources and tips online you can find (see below) but you can’t do it all and that’s okay.

I found my Campbell Biology textbook to be a good resource, specifically two chapters we (unfortunately) skipped in class: Chapter 11 on Cell Communication and Chapter 20 on DNA Tools and Biotechnology. I also used the Mastering Biology modules to review key concepts when I got too tired to do anything else.

Do as many practice tests as possible and do at least one under testing conditions! That means no water or food or bathroom breaks except during the allotted 10 and 30 minute breaks.

It may be a good idea to study and do a practice test at a coffee shop where there are unpredictable noises and distractions. At your testing center, you very well may be sitting next to someone who is coughing or sneezing or tapping their foot. Or there may be construction going on outside!

Build stamina. My first practice full-length took me from 8am until 6pm and my eyes were bloodshot from staring at my computer screen that whole time. By the end of the last section, I was somewhat delirious. There was a question within a passage that went something like this: “Cleopatra and Marc Anthony are both dead on the floor in a locked room with no weapons. What happened?” The answer was this: Cleopatra and Marc Anthony are both fish who died after their fish tank was knocked over. It was supposed to represent some psychology thing and I thought it was so appropriate for how I felt at that moment. I laughed uncontrollably until I cried. Delirious. So! Stamina! Build up your stamina!

Start exercising regularly. Studies have shown that exercise improves cognitive function and you need all the help you can get. Studies have also shown that sitting is the new smoking (or something like that!) and it is good to counteract the effects of sitting all day to prevent back and neck pain.

Study outside as much as possible and get enough vitamin D every day!

Study with others. Studying with friends is so much more fun than studying alone. I didn’t have any friends taking the MCAT at the same time as me, so I studied with my dogs and explained anything I was confused about to them. These photos were actually taken while I was taking gen chem over the summer, but you get the idea:

Don’t get burned out. Take breaks! Listen to your gut — if you need to rest, rest and do something fun and relaxing. Like going for a walk or hike.

Use all the material provided by the AAMC. Especially this outline. If I had time, I would have been methodical about reviewing each of the topics and returning to the ones I didn’t feel comfortable with.

That said, I didn’t get through all of the content review that I wanted to. I still had about 30 bullet points just in the biology section alone that I still hadn’t studied when I walked in to take the MCAT. I also didn’t review ochem at all and didn’t get through all of the physics material. I just ran out of time. I don’t recommend this, but surprisingly I still did well. However, I know I could have done even better if I had had more time and followed the AAMC provided material (content outline and official question packs) more closely. However, most of my friends didn’t look at the AAMC content list once and still did phenomenally. So again, do what works for you!

(Copied and pasted from the physics section above because it is more relevant here): You may have heard there is barely any physics on the MCAT. I had at least two full passages on second semester physics topics and multiple stand alone questions. The important physics topics include: fluids (blood), electrostatics and electromagnetism (charge is important for a lot of biological reactions), and optics (eyes) — there are probably more I am forgetting. I had maybe 15 total physics questions on my test. But others who took the test the same day had very few! Although this test is supposed to be standardized, there is a big luck component to it. Also, it should be noted, this test is not reflective of who you are as a person. You can do really poorly on this test the first time and still be a great person and a great physician!

Practice without a calculator. This was huge for me as I somehow forgot we wouldn’t have access to an on-screen calculator. YOU DO NOT GET A CALCULATOR. So practice simple math. Multiplication, division, etc. During my first section, I got stuck on the decimal point when dividing a big number by a smaller number. Simple. After that I guessed on literally every other question that required (or looked like it might require) a calculation. I hoped to go back but didn’t have time.

Advice I read online afterward said, “if you have to pick up your pencil to do math on the MCAT you are doing it wrong.”

On that note… practice guessing and estimating well.

The TPR practice tests did not give accurate score predictions. This document shows how a lot of folks did on their full-lengths from test companies compared to the real thing.

All this to say: there are SO many resources out there to help you conquer the MCAT. It is super do-able if you prepare and do not panic during the actual test. The MCAT is about effort, dedication, and self-reflection. If something you are doing isn’t working, you need to find a better way that works for you.

On not panicking on test day:

I asked people to pray for me. Knowing that I had a group of people thinking about me and wishing me the best made a huge difference.

Talk to people in the waiting room to diffuse the tension. I was feeling so overwhelmed with love and support from my friends and family that I thought I might cry while waiting to be signed in. I said as much to the young man sitting next to me and he responded, “If you cry, I’ll cry too” and then the person behind us chimed in, “if you both start crying, I’m going to be crying too.” We turned around and the person who spoke as well as the person next to her were both nodding in agreement. A fifth person made a joke about the image of us all going thru security one by one crying and just like that we were smiling and giddy and in it together.

If you have trouble falling asleep the night before the test — don’t get anxious over the fact that you aren’t falling asleep! I heard from one friend who barely slept the night before that they had so much adrenaline pumping thru them on test day that they did not even notice the lack of sleep!

Start getting up early a few weeks before your actual test day and get a lot of sleep in the days leading up to the test and physically exhaust yourself on the day before so that you are more likely to sleep. But whatever you do, don’t get anxious over being anxious!

Also eat well and if you can, alter your poop schedule so that you don’t need to go in the middle of the test. Seriously.

Remember this is just a test. A test that you really can take again! In 2013, approximately 47% of applicants submitted more than one score. Almost everything online will advise you to NOT allow yourself to think about retaking. But this thought helped keep me calm.

Read about what to expect on test day. Security will be tighter than airport security and you will have to go thru it every time you sign in and out for each break. Do not wear any clothes with pockets. Also, if video footage shows that you took off your shoes, took down or put up your hair, or removed your sweater, they can void your test. So if you do any of these things without thinking about it, make sure you make that impossible (for example wear sneakers instead of slip-ons).

Links to resources that helped me and may help you:

Khan Academy was SO helpful. Watch the videos on 1.5x the speed and take notes (in color!).

With Khan Academy — make an account so you can keep track of your progress. I also really liked my little avatar. I identified with her scared face and I think she inspired me to work harder… especially when she bounced up and down when I got something right. Also. You get points. Sometimes watching those points accrue is the motivation you need to keep going.

Kaplan Quicksheets: I printed these out single sided and cut them up into smaller sizes and brought them with me on walks and hikes.

Student doctor network: don’t trust everything you read, but I found the community to be very helpful aaaand like most things I am sharing here, I wish I had found it sooner!

… what I really didn’t like about the new MCAT was that there was only one official practice test and it didn’t provide a score! This was not only stressful but problematic because premeds are advised to only take the MCAT when they are ready because some admissions committees look down on re-takes. Admission committees may either take the highest score, the most recent score (even if it is lower), or average multiple MCAT scores. There should be a full-length practice test with scores available for those who test next year. Use it!

I used Princeton Review’s practice tests and their scoring was very off and I didn’t think the questions were very reflective of the real test. I thought Khan Academy did the best job with their practice passages. I am hopeful TPR will improve their material by next year, but even if they don’t, the current material was sufficient when supplemented with Khan Academy and my Biology and Biochem textbooks.

Post-MCAT

Celebrate and don’t dwell! Waiting a month (or more!) for your score is hard, but distract yourself as best you can.

What if you do worse than you ever thought possible? You’ll survive! No matter what you’ll survive.

Out of this year, I can confidentially say that making new friends was the best part. Yep, even better than learning the fundamentals of our universe. And I am so, so, so grateful to them for helping me through.

The photo below is of me with three friends immediately after they finished their MCATs. All smiles!

I may return to this post to add more thoughts as they come to me.

If you have any questions or tips to share, feel free to leave a comment below.